A FESTIVAL commemorating one of Scotland’s most important battles returns to Ayrshire today.

The Largs Viking Festival is set to take place across today, tomorrow and September 3 and 4, with a variety of events being held in memory of the battle which took place in the town in 1263.

It saw Scotland’s King Alexander III and his army fight the Vikings led by King Haakon IV. The latter held a lot of land to the west of Scotland, including the Isle of Arran and Argyll, and didn’t want to return any of it to the Scottish king.

One of the directors of the Largs Viking Festival committee is in no doubt over the importance of the battle in shaping Scotland as we know it today. Douglas Blair said: “Without that battle, I’m not so sure Scotland would exist because if we had been defeated, then the whole western seaboard would have been under Norse control.

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“The country might have disintegrated because England were also attacking the south of the Scotland at the time. It would certainly appear that we were assisted by adverse weather, which allowed the Scots to attack the Vikings on the beach.

“It maybe doesn’t take as much of the spotlight as other battles but it was crucial. I don’t think we’d have had Bannockburn without the Battle of Largs.”

The event will open with a parade from near Morrisons to a “Viking village”. People will have a chance to take a free trip in a Viking longboat today and tomorrow.

Blair added: “The longship is coming over from Belfast and will be taking trips up and down the Clyde. A lot of the events tend to be free. I think that helps people at the minute and it means they can spend their money elsewhere in town. It’s really a community-led event.”

The festival is of huge benefit to businesses in the town, with almost 20,000 people attending the last festival of fire before Covid hit. It will take place on September 3 this year and involves a torchlit procession through the town to the site of the battle where there will be a re-enactment.

Although an event was able to go ahead last year, Blair said that it was “very restricted”, and he is looking forward to things getting back to normal.

He continued: “Initially, the festival was really just designed to attract tourism. It started off with the odd little concert, but then it started to develop into more of an event which takes place over two weekends.

“We get people coming from various parts of the UK. It was just a local event at first but it’s now spreading. We’ve done studies in terms of footfall, and it usually brings an extra 70,000 people or so into the town across the two weekends. It allows people to come to the town and stay a bit longer and spend a few more pounds.

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Blair said education is at the heart of the festival and that school parties are expected to visit from all over Scotland across next week. He added: “I think a lot of younger people are getting better at understanding Scottish history and how it fits in with the rest of the world.”

After the festival of fire, there will be a firework display which Blair promises will be special: “The fireworks which are spectacular because they’re reflected on the sea as well.”

Blair confirmed the festival is also working on a major new project. He said: “We’ve had some grants which are going to help us build our own longship. It will be held at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.

“It’s great because it’s helped local craftspeople to hone their skills. Not a lot of people can say they’ve built a longship. It’s still in the early stages but will be used for events in the future.”

www.largsvikingfestival.co.uk